The invention relates to a fluid dispenser for the foodstuff supply sector.
The invention relates particularly to a fluid dispenser for the foodstuff supply sector having a dimensionally rigid housing for receiving a tubular bag with viscous contents, wherein the fluid dispenser is also designed to receive tubular bags which have a dispensing device that is fitted or can be fitted on the tubular bag itself and that permits metered dispensing of the contents. Moreover, the tubular bag can be inserted and secured in a predetermined position in the fluid dispenser, and an auxiliary device is present with which the viscous contents located in the tubular bag can be continuously pushed in the direction of the dispensing device on the tubular bag, by mechanical application of pressure to the tubular bag in the position of use of the fluid dispenser.
In the foodstuff supply sector, very large amounts of viscous products must today be delivered in so-called tubular bags for the purpose of maintaining hygienic conditions. These tubular bags are flexible containers on which a dispensing device, for example in the form of a metering pump, is integrated or at least attachable and which in the aggregate are provided for the onetime use. In this way, a contamination of the mostly perishable viscous products (e.g. sauces etc.) is to be prevented. Air is also to be prevented to the greatest possible extent from penetrating into the tubular bags during the emptying process, because penetrating air can promote the contamination and the oxygen in the air can also impair the quality of the products. Nevertheless, the tubular bags are, of course, to be emptied as completely as possible. Finally, there is even often a problem with solutions using disposable metering pumps because the uncontrolled crumpling of the tubular bags during the emptying process and the accompanying wrinkle formation in the tubular bags very often have the effect that a considerable portion of the tubular bag contents remains hanging in the creases and thus cannot be emptied. Estimates by a large distributor in the worldwide foodstuff supply sector assume that just an emptying capability of 96% instead of 88% could result in a yearly savings of the tubular bag contents in the amount of approximately 1 million $.
It is, of course, basically known that the effectively achievable emptying capability of a tubular bag is always dependent on different factors, for example: the emptying rate, the viscosity of the product and the type of tubular bag arrangement and deformation during the emptying process. Other factors, such as, for example, the manner of construction of the dispensing device or respectively the construction of the metering pump used can also play a role.
For the at least approximately complete emptying of tubular bags in the foodstuff sector, different devices and methods were already proposed and implemented before the appearance of metering pumps. These include, for example, simply letting the contents discharge by the natural influence of gravity, suction devices and squeezing devices, with which the tubular bag is, for example, squeezed under the effect of force between two fixed plates. Simply allowing the contents to discharge can, however, be unacceptable particularly with viscous products on account of the time required to do so; and even the suctioning as well as the squeezing each harbor the aforementioned risk that the complete emptying capability is impeded on account of the discharge routes being blocked by the creases which ensue from the wrinkle formation during the application of suction or force, which is for the most part uncontrollable.
An example of a device for dispensing mostly viscous products is described in the American U.S. Pat. No. 3,257,039A. Said U.S. Pat. No. 3,257,039A depicts a dispenser for the dispensing of tooth paste from compressible tubes, wherein the tubes are pressed out from the end of the tube between two serrated pressing rollers by means of a lever device that is to be operated manually. The tubes are not in the proper sense clamped but only held in a position between the pressing rollers and a recess at the dispensing end of the dispensers, and the tubes do not have dispensing devices fitted on the tube body itself. There is only a hingedly mounted closing cap, which is kept closed by means of a spring, on the housing of the dispenser. Because the lever device is slot guided, the lever device and therefore also the pressing rollers tilt slightly laterally. In principle, it is, however, a manually assisted gravity discharge solution.
The American U.S. Pat. No. 5,638,989A describes a dispenser for dispensing fluids from tubular bags. The tubular bags are held or respectively clamped in this case in a three point suspension, namely between two upper suspension hooks and a lower receiving opening for securing a dispensing device, wherein the dispensing device is in turn itself fitted to the tubular bag. The emptying process takes place under the influence of gravity; however, a pivotable clamp is also provided, which pushes against a side wall of the tubular bag in the central bag region and apparently at least in part improves the emptying capability of the tubular bag.
The American U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,613 describes a fluid dispenser for the foodstuff supply sector having a dimensionally rigid housing for receiving a tubular bag with viscous contents, wherein the fluid dispenser is additionally designed to receive tubular bags, which have a dispensing device, which is fitted itself to the tubular bag and can be operated manually, for the metered dispensing of the contents, and wherein the tubular bag can furthermore be inserted and secured in a predetermined position in the fluid dispenser and wherein an auxiliary device is provided, with which the viscous contents located in the tubular bag can be continuously pushed in the direction of the dispensing device on the tubular bag, by mechanical application of pressure to the tubular bag in the position of use of the fluid dispenser. The tubular bag is secured in the housing by means of a clamping using clamping means in the form of a three point clamping. The auxiliary device consists of at least one weighting roller which is mounted between two lateral guides in the housing and which, in the position of use of the fluid dispenser, bears on the tubular bag and, by means of its inherent weight, is able to push the viscous contents of the tubular bag continuously to the dispensing device on the tubular bag. In principle, this disclosure relates to a gravity discharge solution supported by weighting rollers. Because the two weighting rollers are only guided in guide slots, a lateral tilting of the weighting rollers is however possible.
Because none of these solutions is concerned with the increasingly occurring crease formation, which particularly occurs when pumping out tubular bags, then, for example, if the dispensing device, which is fitted to the tubular bag itself and permits metered dispensing of the contents, is itself a metering pump, even the conventional solutions having weighting rollers which utilize gravity and have lateral guides are not satisfactory. Because the crease formation is largely uncontrollable and random, these creases can occur on one side. If this is the case, the discharge support by means of the weighting rollers is likewise one-sided because said rollers can tilt and even under certain circumstances hang up on creases that have developed on one side. Contents which cannot be emptied often remain in the pockets of such creases. In such cases, the goal is only unsatisfactorily achieved, namely the aforementioned emptying of the tubular bag as completely as possible.